


your heart was glass (i dropped it)

by Freezeurbrain



Category: Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Angst, F/M, Title from a Taylor Swift Song, because what else is new, orpheus goes to hadestown instead of eurydice, the fates are kind of like eurydice’s wine aunts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:42:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28156260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freezeurbrain/pseuds/Freezeurbrain
Summary: orpheus goes to hadestown instead of eurydice
Relationships: Eurydice & Hermes (Hadestown), Eurydice/Orpheus (Hadestown), Hades/Persephone (Hadestown), Orpheus & Persephone (Hadestown), The Fates & Eurydice
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	your heart was glass (i dropped it)

**Author's Note:**

> I’m sorry

_La la la la la la la…_

Orpheus bit his lip. Something was… off. He couldn’t concentrate. And music was the one thing that could always draw him in, pull him away from his world and into an imaginary one where the only thing that existed was his guitar and those melodies that came tumbling out of his mouth without him knowing fully how. But today was different. He strummed his guitar strings, sang the same notes he’d sung a hundred times before, but it wasn’t transporting him like it usually did. Both physically and emotionally, he remained in the small campground in the middle of the forest. 

_La la la la la la la…_

He had an idea of what the problem was. His mind kept flashing back to his earlier conversation with Eurydice. 

_”Orpheus, could you please help me with this?”_ , she’d asked, turning away from the pile of sticks and paper she had been unsuccessfully trying to start a fire with. _”It’ll be dark soon, and if we don’t have a fire, we’ll freeze.”_

_”Just a second.”_ Orpheus had said, not even looking up from his guitar. He didn’t need to look up, however, to hear the annoyance- and the concern -in Eurydice’s response. 

___”Orpheus, your song can wait.”_ Eurydice pulled her coat tighter to her chest, trying to guard her small frame against the bite of the chill wind, which grew more and more vicious the lower the sun sank in the sky. _”If we don’t have a fire, we don’t have warmth, we don’t have food-_ ” Her eyes widened mid-sentence, as if she had suddenly come to a realization. _”Food. Orpheus, did you go out and get food this morning like I asked you to?”___

_______”I...”_ Orpheus stopped strumming his guitar, and his voice trailed off. His silence answered Eurydice’s question for her. _ _ _ _ _ _

______Eurydice took a sharp inhale of breath. _”What were you doing instead?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

______Other men in Orpheus’s position might have lied, claimed to have come down with a debilitating sickness or injury that would have prevented them from doing what was asked of them. But Orpheus was too kind, too sweet, to lie to Eurydice like that. _”I was working on my song.”__ _ _ _ _ _

______He still didn’t look Eurydice in the eye as he spoke. He couldn’t bring himself to do that._ _ _ _ _ _

_______”Your song.”_ Eurydice threw her hands up in the air, as if she were contemplating why the gods had given her a lover more concerned with music than survival. _”Your song was worth letting us starve?”__ _ _ _ _ _

_______”I meant to go get food, I just…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______”You forgot.”_ Eurydice snapped. _”I’m not surprised.”__ _ _ _ _ _

______She’d stormed off towards the forest, grabbing her scarf from their tent and wrapping it around her neck._ _ _ _ _ _

_______”Where are you going?”_ Orpheus asked._ _ _ _ _ _

_______”To get food.”_ Eurydice’s tone was as sharp and cold as the wind, which had just picked up; as if to match the intensity of the argument. _”At least one of us has to be the responsible one. Might as well be me. Like it always is.”__ _ _ _ _ _

______Then, she’d disappeared into the trees. And Orpheus was alone._ _ _ _ _ _

_______Like it always is._ _ _ _ _ _ _

______Orpheus’s fingers were shaking from the cold, so much that he couldn’t even play his guitar anymore. The freezing wind howled around him, as if it was chastising the singer- or taunting him. It was hard to tell._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Well, look what we have here.” The voice that Orpheus heard was gravely and low, but still managed to be heard over the ferocious wind. “Our songbird seems to have lost his voice.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Orpheus jumped up. “Who’s there?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______A laugh came from the trees- a man’s laugh. “You know who I am.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Orpheus looked around but he couldn’t see so much as a whisper of a person among the trees. “Where are you?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Right here.” The voice seemed so much louder now, the reason being- Orpheus realized with a sudden shock -that the mystery man was standing right behind him._ _ _ _ _ _

______Alarmed, Orpheus turned and stumbled back a few feet. He was face-to-face with a tall, grey-haired man in a long, sleek black coat. Underneath the coat, he wore a suit made of shiny grey silk- it would have taken someone like Orpheus months of work to be able to afford clothing that expensive. This was no ordinary man, a fact only made clearer by the almost tangible darkness that surrounded him._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Hades.” Compared to the Underworld King’s own voice, Orpheus sounded as small as a mouse in comparison._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Forgive me if I startled you, young man.” Hades’ tone was polite, but his eyes conveyed a different message. “I seem to have that effect on people.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“What are you doing here?” Orpheus blurted out before he could stop himself._ _ _ _ _ _

______Hades laughed, a deep and booming noise that sounded like an echo in a cave. “My, my. Hasty, are we? Can’t the King of the Underworld just pop up to the surface every now and then for a bit of fresh air?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Orpheus was silent. He wasn’t sure how to respond to that in a way that would avoid angering the man who could snap his fingers and kill Orpheus right where he stood._ _ _ _ _ _

______“But you would be right if you assumed I came to your home for a reason.” Hades glanced around the campsite. “Although ‘home’ might be a bit generous.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Why are you here?” Orpheus asked, unsuccessfully trying to conceal the shaking in his voice as he spoke._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I have a proposition for you, young man.” Hades said. “A business proposition.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Business?” Orpheus looked up at the Underworld King. “What kind of business?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“All kinds.” Hades said. “Hadestown is always busy. There’s always work to be done, and as such, I am always in need of workers.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“You want me to… come and work for you?” Orpheus’s eyes widened._ _ _ _ _ _

______Hades smiled. “You’re a clever one, aren’t you?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Why?” Orpheus asked._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I just told you why.” Hades reached out and touched the branch of a nearby tree, holding one of its brown leaves between his fingers. “There’s always a demand for new workers down in Hadestown. And I predict that lots more will be joining us soon, what with winter coming and all.” He eyed Orpheus, like he was a butcher sizing up a pig to see how much meat he could get from it. “You seem apprehensive.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’ve heard stories about life down there.” Orpheus stuck his hands into his pockets in an attempt to conceal how they were shaking._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Young man, you really should know that stories are just that- stories.” Hades looked down at the brown leaf he was holding, which seemed to be barely hanging on to the branch. “My workers are paid. Well paid, in fact. Many of them send their money to their families on the surface- to parents, children…” He turned, and Orpheus followed his gaze over to the empty tent. “…and lovers.”_ _ _ _ _ _

_______Eurydice_. _ _ _ _ _ _

______“That girl.” Hades smiled, as if he could read Orpheus’s thoughts. “You love her, don’t you?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I do.” Orpheus nodded. His mouth suddenly felt very dry. “Very much.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“And don’t you want her to have a better life than…” Hades gestured to the campsite with one arm. “…this?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Yes.” Orpheus nodded again. “She deserves it.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Well, son, I know one way you can give it to her.” Hades said. “And it ain’t with that fancy guitar of yours.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Hades reached into his pocket and took something out- a small piece of paper, which he handed to Orpheus._ _ _ _ _ _

______Orpheus stared at the paper. “What’s this?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Your ticket.” Hades said, his tone flat and even. “I’ll let you make the choice, young man. But that train leaves tonight.” He looked Orpheus right in the eye, making his point crystal clear. “With or without you on it.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______And just like that, Hades was gone, leaving Orpheus alone and clutching the train ticket in his right hand. A ticket to the Underworld._ _ _ _ _ _

______Orpheus looked up at the sky, which had grown dark. He had been so absorbed in his conversation with Hades that he hadn’t even noticed night falling._ _ _ _ _ _

_______That train leaves tonight._ _ _ _ _ _ _

______Eurydice’s words echoed in his brain over and over again._ _ _ _ _ _

_______At least one of us has to be the responsible one. Might as well be me. Like it always is._ _ _ _ _ _ _

______Eurydice _was_ always responsible. She was like a rock, an anchor. It was Eurydice who went out and got the firewood, Eurydice who went out in the dead of night to collect food. Orpheus had promised to provide for Eurydice, but more often than not, she was the one who provided for them both. She shouldered so much weight, battled with the ever-present anxiety of there not being enough food, enough firewood, enough anything for them to survive. All while Orpheus… worked on his song. Eurydice had done so much for him. _ _ _ _ _ _

______Now it was time for him to do something for her._ _ _ _ _ _

______When Eurydice came back to the campsite, all she found was her lover’s guitar leaning up against the trunk of a nearby tree._ _ _ _ _ _


End file.
